Spiro locks... is there
 

:evilb: A better way to get them in? I checked deck square today, cleaned painted the block and put in the cam bearings and frost plugs. I scribed the gaskets and then measured the top ring to see how far to grind. It's is all good :drink: . I Unshrouded the valves and I then checked the Clarence on the mains .003, and then end play. Torqued it down the Mains and then got really frustrated with the Spiro locks on the pistons, so, i just mocked it up for a woody moment. I am usually not this far behind the curve on anything. I went to the JE website and read the instructions and still struggled. Is there a easier way? Has some motor guru out there that done this and got a system i was using a small right angle o ring pic and a small ignition screwdriver. any suggestions welcome.

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

Spiro locks are a pain in the azz! No easy way to do it, just bloody finger tips! :D

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

they are entertaining :D :D stretch them alittle, tiny screwdriver, spin them in :D :D

P.S there are 4 spirolocks per piston ;) learned that a few years ago.. only ran 2 locks per piston in first motor, nothing went wrong :D :D opps

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vv

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

The first ones are always tough. Need not worry they get easier. There even better to take apart.
The older pistons dont even have the notch machined.
What a blast.

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

I would like to do this the right way. I do not think that installing only one is the correct way if the Manufacturer Says put two per side. But just for entertainment purposes..... how hard did you run your last motor that u only used one per side?

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

Hpy540
http://www.jepistons.com/pdf/piston_instrc4032.pdf
Bob

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

I went to the JE website and read the instructions and still struggled


:cool:Yes yes yes i have that and they are a PITA... just looking for anything helpful

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

Post #3 and the JE instructions from rmbuilder describe what has worked best for me. I carefully use a very small screwdriver to thread the lock into the piston groove. Like a lot of things, there's a technique to it. Ya don't want to spread the coils too far in the process of installing them. Since you don't reuse them, I've purposely abused a few removing them to see how sensitive they are, They're actually quite forgiving in my opinion. You'll probably find that you get the hang of it about the time you finnish the last piston.

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

HPY ... looks sweet ....some general specs ..... I assume 540 ?

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

Hpy500,
Pics
http://www.beckracing.com/page10.htm
Bob

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

No expert here, but I would guess that if they were stretched that they'd want to pop out. Hard to describe, but if it feels right, it is. If it doesn't, it isn't. As I said, they're quite forgiving before they take a deflection set.

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

Don't want to show my age, but I just re-read Travis' post#3. I can remember when there were only 2 Spiral-Locks per piston. It was two of those or 2 Tru-Arc retaining rings.Just a little trivia on a 20 degree winter morning.

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

Here is the ball park of what i have going on. I know they are theoretical numbers but i am also looking for jetting specs. or at least some ideas. I have done a search and have read the post about what to run but, jetting specs from a Guru would be proffered. Merc Block 502 +.030, H beams, forged 4.25 scat crank, Ferra valves, roller rockers 1.7, team g intake, 850 carb, .613 .629 236 244 dur 112 lsa set up for wet exhaust buy a custom marine cam grinder(roller hydraulic) Mallory dist and i need a box and a coil yet if any one has one they need to get rid of. Any way it should be fun but i will let you know about the locks a little later today. i have a few hours of work this AM and then back into the garage. There was also a post that came up on cometic/felpro gaskets and someone mentioned a second hole for cooling on the felrpo gasket, can someone give me a clue as to what this is about? Or is it non essential. Here is the PDF .......

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

I know there is a heat treat process to both the spiro's and the truearc but i am a Little concerned about the ability for the true arcs. Without the proper heat treat the true arcs would probably anneal and fail thus creating a big gouge in the cylinder wall. Has any one here ever had a catastrophic failure with just one Spiro? I would imagine that the normal hardness of a True arc is probably around a SAE Gr 5 just like most cap screws but i would also like to know if the manufacturer used a different alloy in the true arcs or just off the shelf. I am concerned about the Annealing that might transpire because of the heating.


20 degree :snide: it is -4 here :D

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

I think I explained it wrong. on my first motor The instructions didn't tell me how many per piston and they were my first spiro lock pistons. I only put 2 in for each piston, then wondered why they gave me so many extras LOL!!. For entertainment.. motor ran great WFO all season long. My instructions for my second set the year after explained there needed to be 4 per piston... A learning experiance I guess :D

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

i never had a problem... to remove i use a pic tool with a 90* pick on one end. i use a small screwdriver to catch and lift the and tab of the spiralock enough to get the pic behind it and pull it out of the groove. to install i use the small screwdriver to start the end and use push it around the clip until it winds it into the groove. i use a clip twice once in each direction, have done this on v8's and my 2 stroke drag bikes i've never had any problems...

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

Ratman has the technique down pat. I would ask that everyone understand that my reference to True Arcs was a l-o-n-g time ago. They worked ok and were easy to install, but had a really sharp edge that had to be oriented out. The other edge was slighty rounded (probably part of the blanking process in the die) and if oriented out had a tendacy to dislodge. By design, there's virtually no end play in the pin. My personal opinion is that this gives you a 'failsafe' condition. If you flexed the spiral lock enough for it to yield, it takes a permanent bend that would probably prevent getting all four locks installed without it being obvious that something was wrong. I've personally never heard of a Spiral Lock popping out. When you consider that there is a fairly large gap between the piston pin boss and the cylinder bore, I wouldn't expect the wall to be scored if a Spiral lock popped out,BUT, I would expect the other lock to be pounded out with high probability that the motor would grenade. Just one persons opinion

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No problem i have it now. just tried one and i will have a post later.

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Lou,
Got your reference to the True-Arcs. When our engines were in rotation using Spiro Locks was out of the question due to the frequency of rebuilds. All our pistons were set up for double True-Arc locks; sharp side toward the piston, and the rounded edges faced each other. The trick was to be sure the retainer groove and the pin ends were both perpendicular to the bore axis. Pin to lock clearance is critical to keep the pin from hammering out the lock. Never had a retainer failure in thousands of racing miles. We could do all sixteen sides in less than ten minutes.
If you have a shop and do a lot of Spiros this tool works well but is pricey
http://www.powerandperformancenews.c...&Store_Code=PH
Many of the piston manufacturers are now using the round wire locks with chamfered pins.
Bob

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Bill,
They warn not to overstretch or reuse pin locks.
The PDf file shows opening them up 1/8"-1/4" only, just enough to begin to "screw" them into the groove.
Bob

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Bob- Good to hear from you on such a balmy day(?). Bet you miss the sound of those injected Can Am big blocks! The first floating pin setup in the Mark IV big block was a single pin retainer with a groove around .060"-.062". Heady days when GM moved from 3/8 to 7/16 Boron rod bolts and 'dimple' rods, from closed to open chamber heads and the aluminum ZL-1 block. All this talk about spiral locks is causing my finger tips to ache! Later...Lou

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Bill,
They are made to be slightly stretched. Over stretching and removal reduces the radial tension and makes them prone to failure.
Bob

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Got the wrong headbolts in the mail today... Good thing Comp products is overnight ups regular rate i am hoping to drop in by the weekend :drink: :D :drink: :drink:

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

Ok, so we are headed for the first big snowfall of the year. It has not been real cold and I went on my last boat ride about three weeks ago. I put the boat in storage, But now I have the incredible urge to tear it down again. Mid summer I melted down a few pistons and had two other problems. 1 Distributor. 2, oil cooler. I have since solved both of them but now I have some blow by so I would like to freshen it up a little. The brand new dist (that went bad) has really screwed up my motor. Soooooo, this summer I had the opportunity to run DD 2003 number on two friend’s motors. They had actually dynoed. They came out wit in 6 hp on both motors. One was a Dart 540 the other was a warmed up 502. I am somewhere in the 700 hp range before I melted it,(714 at 6000 rpm to be exact) I did hit 94 on gps with about a 2-6 mph current so I would like to get back to that.

So this is what I am thinking about, I am thinking about replacing my intake and I am wondering what to buy? I have hit 5500 rpm and the thing was still climbing when I hit 94 mph gps but I got nervous because we did not have the life vests. An air gap dual plane would definitely bring the torque down a bit in the rpm but I do not know if I need that? I have a Strip Dominator on it now and I know those are junk. I am either thinking Brodix single plane(is this the best for my app) or edelebrock dual plane air gap(is there a better dual plane out there). When I hit 94 it was no fuel and a 236 twin step eliminator eagle with 1.36 gears and worked over 27 mirage prop and perfect conditions, the water was like glass and the temp was about 70 and no humidity 2 people in the boat. It did Chine a little from about 75 to 81 or so but it always settles down after that speed. I did hit 78 mph with 7 full size guys in the boat and ¾ tank of fuel at 5400 rpm and this was it…… it did not have any more left (No Chine either). My average boat load is 4-5 people usually 2 of them are 110 lb’ers and a cooler and fuel. I do not hit the top end runs much but they are fun when I do.

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contiunued 2nd, since I have at least .140 clearance between the valve and piston I am thinking about going to 1.8 rocker arms. My cam guy has told me that .629 lift with stock GM roller lifters is all I can go with because of the oil band not hitting correctly. The 1.8 would increase that overall lift. Also I am thinking about going to Zero gap top rings, has anyone used these? Do I have to have a special finish when I hone? I also heard it is not good to run zero gaps on all the rings only the top one, I am hoping I do not have to rebore. I think I can get buy with a rehone. The reason I did not go through my 540 completely was the season in WI would have been over by time I did it right. It now has about 37 hours on what were the new parts from last winter. So I am going to gauge the bearings and throw it back together. I am going to take a little squish out of the deck... the SRP's are .018 in the hole and the deck is out of square by .003 on one side and by .005 on the other. With 9.6 CR now... What should I deck it to? The next option is replacing the Gill manifolds with the CMI sport tube headers. This will probably net the most increase in performance.

I feel like there is a crest that when I get past it the boat just keeps on climbing(topping this depends on weight and water conditions). I have yet to really hold it at 6000 and above to see what it tops out at. I have set it up for peak at 6000 to 6200 rpm.

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continued The next thing is the sea water pump and the lower pulley. The center groove on the lower pulley Is much smaller than the outside ones and I would like to know where I can get a pulley with the same size on all three belts. The next is the pump itself, I think I need to change to a factory Merc Bravo one. Yes I have read the threads on the KPM ones and I do not think I need one of those. I do think I need a slightly larger one like the factory Merc one. I only have slight heat problems when I hold it for over 10 min or so at 4600 or above and the water temps run into the mid 70’s and above. I am also going to put steam bleed offs on the rear water ports of the intake manifold/ head steam pockets.


Recap
Intake: which one?
Rings: zero gap yes or no and what finish
Deck: how much?
Rocker arms: cheap and I am gong to do it any way
Cooling: pump and pulley where to get them reasonably priced
Sport tube’s fred I will be calling.
Overall How much HP or speed should I expect? It has been reliable after I threw it together last time
ANY OTHER SUGGESTINS SINCE I AM GOING THROUGH IT ANY WAY?

Re: Spiro locks... is there
 

Spiro locks can be fun if you get the right technique down. The larger the lock the easier... DO NOT STRETCH THEM. Open one half of the lock and stick it over your left thumb.. While holding the piston and rod assembly in your left hand... force the half of the spiro lock that is under your thumb into the lower part of the groove.... then with your right thumb and index finger.. grasp the rest of the lock and twist it in a clockwise manner ( not to rotate the lock, to wind it up smaller)... once you get it started into the groove you can just push it down with your fingers and it will "thread" itself in. Good luck... It took me several engines before I mastered this technique. BUT IT WORKS GREAT ONCE YOU FIGURE IT OUT!